Who was Nathan Bedford Forrest?

[carpnter]

^Edmund Kirby Smith was also from NE Florida. As for a "slippery slope" to renaming the other schools, there's never been a proposal like that that has gotten any traction. Perhaps that would change, perhaps not; either way it's not a particularly good reason to keep this name.

Oh, I am not saying that it is a good reason, but it could be a reason so many are resistant to the name change.

[Sgarey123]

Tacachale,

To go ahead and clarify...

1) Forrest was not from Jacksonville or Florida and had no particular connection to area
2) The name was only chosen in 1959, when the school opened

1) Forrest was General for the Confederacy.  Florida is part of the region we call "the south" and also was part of the Confederacy.  This is an affliation in its own right. If you scroll back several pages one very informed member of this site goes further indicating that Forrest also commanded one of the regiments that came from Jacksonville.  Regardless, a great number of Confederate Generals have been honored across the entire South regardless of home or visitation.

2) The school did open in 1959 at the location of Jeb Stuart sits today.  It was not integrated until it moved in 1966 to the location it is at today. Knowing Government like I do I could completely see administration seeing the move as a golden oppurtunity to implement the new policies. I could believe that the building where Jeb Stuart is having not been intended for such a manuever in the planning stage.  Things took a lot longer back then! Seriously.

I do not know how familiar you are with the relationship the different levels of government have with each other but sometimes it can be troublesome ( katrina was a perfect example).  One could say that Brown vs Board of Education was the first time the Federal Government inserted itself like that (other than the war).  It does not surprise me a bit that it would take several years for policy to come to fruition.  It was a territory battle.  You folks all see the social side of the matter and get emotional about about the core issue.  It is a whole different matter when it comes to government.  It just does not work like a business and it never will. Another good example would be "Obamacare." It will take years before that works I am sure.

I hope this helps....Renaming NBF is a bad idea. It kills some of our local flavor. It ticks off 54 years of graduates. It cost money.  It stirs up racial hatred.  It is an awful thing all around.  I blame Vitti for bring it back to the table. I feel like he must be so overwhelmed that he needed a distraction to keep the stock holders (us) busy quillibling over until he can figure out what to do.

[Cheshire Cat]

Sgarey123,  It kills some of our local flavor.

OMG.....that is all!

[Tacachale]

^Edmund Kirby Smith was also from NE Florida. As for a "slippery slope" to renaming the other schools, there's never been a proposal like that that has gotten any traction. Perhaps that would change, perhaps not; either way it's not a particularly good reason to keep this name.

Oh, I am not saying that it is a good reason, but it could be a reason so many are resistant to the name change.

Gotcha, and I agree - that's definitely something to think about. I also think the "no change" side has more of a point on the money this will cost than is sometimes acknowledged.

[Cheshire Cat]

^Edmund Kirby Smith was also from NE Florida. As for a "slippery slope" to renaming the other schools, there's never been a proposal like that that has gotten any traction. Perhaps that would change, perhaps not; either way it's not a particularly good reason to keep this name.

Oh, I am not saying that it is a good reason, but it could be a reason so many are resistant to the name change.

Gotcha, and I agree - that's definitely something to think about. I also think the "no change" side has more of a point on the money this will cost than is sometimes acknowledged.

For some of them the opposition is much more base than an issue of money or history.  A woman was hauled from this afternoons meeting by JSO for yelling and disrupting the meeting.  It is alleged that she called one of the School Board members a "Ni@@er".  For those who think this isn't about race and bigotry, think again.  For many of those who support keeping the name it is all about racism. 

[Tacachale]

Sgarey123,

Yes, Florida is part of the South, but that doesn't mean than anyone from any part of the South represents our local history or culture. And even more so, simply because Florida was part of the Confederacy doesn't mean that any Confederate figure from any Confederate state is part of our local history. Florida was also once part of the Spanish and British empires, but we'd find it odd if we were to consider "Francisco Pizarro High School" and "Earl Cornwallis Middle" to represent our local culture. Oklawaha did try to come up with a Jacksonville connection for Forrest, but it's *really* stretching it. He's just passionate at the topic, like yourself, which is a good thing even if we don't agree.

I'm very well aware of the background of education in the 50s, and the issue of segregation was far more significant than you're saying. After Brown, the powers in Florida and the other segregated states, both in the South and outside it, fought like Kilkenny cats to keep the status quo. They launched obstructionist legal challenges hoping to overturn, nullify, or postpone the ruling from taking effect. Here in Florida, we kept opening segregated schools. That is the background in which Forrest and the other schools were named.

[thelakelander]

LOL, Cornwallis Middle?  I like it.

[BridgeTroll]

I simply CANNOT be the only one... 

Kilkenny cats

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilkenny_cat

The term Kilkenny cat refers to anyone who is a tenacious fighter. The origin of the term is now lost so there are many stories purporting to give the true meaning.

To "fight like a Kilkenny cat" refers to an old story about two cats who fought to the death and ate each other up such that only their tails were left.[1] There is also a limerick (with optional added couplet) about the two cats:


There once were two cats of Kilkenny
Each thought there was one cat too many
So they fought and they fit
And they scratched and they bit
'Til (excepting their nails And the tips of their tails) Instead of two cats there weren't any!

[SunKing]

Should probably rename Jacksonville while we are at it.  You could make an easy case against Andrew Jackson but I have just never liked the name personally.

Great cities require distinctive names

[SunKing]

whenever i tell people where i am from, i say "Jacksonville" and then as a follow up "Florida" bc there is probably a Jackson or Jacksonville in every state.

maybe we could adopt a symbol like Prince...

[Cliffs_Daughter]

I simply CANNOT be the only one... 

Kilkenny cats

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilkenny_cat

The term Kilkenny cat refers to anyone who is a tenacious fighter. The origin of the term is now lost so there are many stories purporting to give the true meaning.

To "fight like a Kilkenny cat" refers to an old story about two cats who fought to the death and ate each other up such that only their tails were left.[1] There is also a limerick (with optional added couplet) about the two cats:


There once were two cats of Kilkenny
Each thought there was one cat too many
So they fought and they fit
And they scratched and they bit
'Til (excepting their nails And the tips of their tails) Instead of two cats there weren't any!

You WEREN'T, and Thank You for doing the Google work for me! 

[Sgarey123]

Renaming hurts Jacksonville.

There is racism going on from both sides of the issue. The objective way to handle it is to ignore those folks. The kkk are a bunch of small minded buffoons and do not own the confederacy. However, the other side should be careful to not think along the same lines as them.

Renaming Forrest's grave site was certainly racist. You folks may not realize it but NBF name was a household word. As popular as Lee.

He does represent Jax.....he represents the entire south.

Renaming is foolish. Do not act like Memphis, tenn.

[kbhanson3]

How could there possibly be a racist reason for advocating the name change?? We are treading on the border of absurdity now, if we've not already fallen into the abyss.

[Tacachale]

I simply CANNOT be the only one... 

Kilkenny cats

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilkenny_cat

The term Kilkenny cat refers to anyone who is a tenacious fighter. The origin of the term is now lost so there are many stories purporting to give the true meaning.

To "fight like a Kilkenny cat" refers to an old story about two cats who fought to the death and ate each other up such that only their tails were left.[1] There is also a limerick (with optional added couplet) about the two cats:


There once were two cats of Kilkenny
Each thought there was one cat too many
So they fought and they fit
And they scratched and they bit
'Til (excepting their nails And the tips of their tails) Instead of two cats there weren't any!

You WEREN'T, and Thank You for doing the Google work for me! 

Ha, sorry guys, that won't be the last 19th-century Irish reference you'll be Googling if you read my posts. Here's another great invocation of the Wild Cats of Kilkenny by the greatest band the world has ever known:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-f1APnWRAMo

[Sgarey123]

Please do provide what you think "racism" is? 

There is no logical basis to change the name...here or memphis.  Memphis basically showed how minorities who gain the majority act. No grace there....lets show some here.

Renaming is a bad idea. Hold true to what makes us different...do not throw it away.

M